BPTP to raise $300 mn from PE firms

September 18, 2008	(Be the first to rate this story!)  Loading ...
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Real estate firm Business Park Town Planners Ltd (BPTP) is planning to raise $300 million (Rs1, 389 crore) from private equity firms. The company needs the money to finance the payment for the 95 acre plot it has bought in Noida, near Delhi, and for the development of a commercial property on this land. BPTP, which claims to be talking to several private equity firms, says it is open to selling shares in the company itself or in a special purpose vehicle (or company) that has been formed for the Noida project.

Kabul Chawla, the managing director of BPTP, declined to comment on the private equity firms the company was in discussions with. The Noida project is expected to cost Rs 5, 000 crore over the next five years. BPTP outbid DLF Ltd and Omaxe Ltd for the land, agreeing to pay Rs4, 957 crore in what is considered India’s biggest real estate deal by overall value. BPTP has paid 25% of this amount, or around Rs1, 300 crore, from internal accruals, the sale of a 3% stake in the company for Rs250 crore to JPMorgan Chase and Co. and the sale of stake in special economic zones it is developing. BPTP has to pay the balance for the land over eight years, in six-monthly installments. Chawla claimed the Noida project would be India’s first and largest international business district and would attract a mix of tenants such as banks, financial institutions, IT companies and law firms. “The idea is to build a true business centre based on the Canary Warf and Dubai Financial Center model,” he said.

News Published Under:   Real Estate Developers |

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